il fantasma
by Winterlover6
Summary: Nico di Angelo meets wizards and major shit happens. First chapter includes Hades being an asshole, reveals the children of Aphrodite as sociopaths, and contains Nico being a BAMF. I'm also too tired to do this summary properly at the moment. I'll do better tomorrow. Probably. Hopefully. We'll see.


"Hey! Hey, Nico! Wait up cuz! Nico!" The Italian demigod ignored Percy's calls as he stalked to the nearest of many shadows, melting into it and vanishing from the intrusive eyes of the campers. He allowed himself to relax and savor the familiar, silky cool feeling of darkness wrapping around his form.

The son of Poseidon had been trying to talk to him since last month, when he had dropped the 'I liked you' bomb on him after the Giant War. And while he wasn't crushing on Percy anymore, he didn't have the guts to face him just yet. Not with everything that was going on right now. He needed time to sort everything out.

Nico materialized on the bed of his room in the Underworld, gracelessly flopping down onto the silk bed covers with a sigh. Obsidian orbs lazily surveyed his surroundings as one pale hand came up to ruffle inky curls.

He really shouldn't have been there, slacking off when there were soul to be caught, but he had been working all week with barely any sleep, and Will _would_ make good on his promise and tie Nico to a bed in the infirmary if he exhausted himself. (And Nico was blissfully unaware of any sexual connotations to that statement, the poor thing.)

So he let his eyelids flutter shut, immediately dropping him into the dream world. An unfamiliar dreamworld that was not his own. The viewpoint was fractured and distorted, flickering back and forth. A boy with a scar, a silver locket, a tiara, ring that radiated death, a golden cup, a snake, a… thing, he couldn't tell if it was a monster or mortal, so corrupted was his presence. A twisted hissing filled his ears, assaulting his from all sides. It echoed in his mind, distorted and drawn out unnaturally.

"_The boy… kill him… bring him here to me… Harry Potter… the prophecy… born as the seventh months dies… power the Dark Lord knows not… BRING HIM TO ME!" _Nico jerked awake with a strangled cry, throwing himself out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom. He was covered head to toe in a cold sweat and shaking badly. A phantom pain had Nico clutching at his heart as the agony of a soul split apart thrummed through his being.

Nico splashed his face and neck with water, leaning forward with his hands braced against the cold porcelain of the sink to rest his forehead against the mirror. He stayed that way for some minutes, breathing in and out deeply, trying to get his pulse under control.

After several minutes had passed, he pulled away and began to go about his morning rituals, glancing at the clock and wincing. It was half past four New York time. He spent eight hours sleeping, more than he should have. He was lucky Thanatos was lazy on weekends, like the eternal teenager he was.

Freshly showered and dressed in a clean black t-shirt, black jeans, and combat boots, Nico checked his Hephaestus iPhone was saw the long list of places for him to visit. First up, Ontario Canada.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Slash, block, swipe, swipe, block, dodge, slice, twirl under its guard, and stab. The monster-ghost hybrid thing exploded, showering the unfortunate demigod lightly with glittering gold crap. Nico gagged, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his jacket and spitting onto the sidewalk.

How he loathed that fruity scented, irritatingly pretty monster dust. It got in his hair and clothes, and was sticky to boot, taking forever to get off in the shower. The Aphrodite kids actually made perfume out of the stuff as some sort of warning to monsters. It only worked on the weaker ones though, and even an overweight, asthmatic, untrained demigod could take one of _those_ down. So it was kind of pointless, but they did it anyway. But who knew how girls' minds worked anyway? Not him.

Nico looked around him, cringing at the level of destruction he made of the city block. The police and reporters would start swarming any minute, and although he had fried the security cameras, there were three people with cell phones that he had to take care of.

"_Piacevole_," (Lovely.) He muttered sarcastically. Nico used the Mist to knock the mortals out, swiping their phones and smashing them to pieces with the edge of his blade. He kicked them a few times to make sure before he closed his eyes and melted into the night, leaving carnage and screaming sirens behind him.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Much later, Nico stepped out of the dark shadows of Hades throne room, careful not to make eye contact with the temperamental god. He bent down on one knee, bowing his head and trying not to have 'rebellious eyes', whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Lord Hades,'' He greeted respectfully. Hades scoffed derisively, looking him up and down with a sneer, as if being in the same room with his offspring was the worst thing he'd ever endured in all his millions of years on this earth.

"Boy." It was fascinating how that one innocent word could be filled with so much venom. It had always been like that, and Nico had no idea why. He didn't want to sound like a whiny brat, but he was jealous of the non-hostile relationships other half blood had with their godly parents. Not that he would ever admit it.

"You've made a mess of yourself again. How many times do I have to tell you to clean up before you come here? Not that you should _have_ to. Bianca was never so amateurish in her kills. You're a disgrace, boy." Nico didn't react outwardly. But he couldn't help the pang of hurt and bitterness that welled up inside him. Bianca used arrows, of course she didn't get monster dust on her! She was meters away from the kill zone! Hades knew that, obviously. He just liked putting Nico down for reasons unknown.

"Yes sir."

"Are you mocking me, brat?" No, but he had to answer or he would be being disrespectful.

"No sir."

Hades scoffed, dark eyes positively burning with hate and disgust. He waved a hand in Nico's direction, and the shadows swallowed him whole, spitting him out halfway across the globe.

"Find the horcruxes boy, and destroy them. That is your new quest." Hades voice echoed in his ears. Nico groaned piteously, slowly climbing to his feet, covered in thin, razor sharp lacerations from the rough treatment. He looked around the park wearily, wanting for the moment nothing more than to curl up in a ball an cry. He pushed the feeling away and took a deep breath. He had work to do.


End file.
